The Path We Tread
by The Lady Fay
Summary: Working Title Sirius Black has recently escaped from Azkaban and Malorey James finds herself torn between believing the mans story or turning him over to the Ministry of Magic even as she cares for him and hides him. Ch.2 up
1. Default Chapter

_Here we go, the first chapter in my short story. This is the story of a confused woman who must decide whether she believes a convict or not. This isn't intended to be a long story, though that may change at any moment.Actually, this is the third edit.Originally, this was written about a year and a half ago, though I am making changes here or there, mostly to the sentence structure and vocabulary, as well as the length. Unfortunately, I started it, but never finished it. Therefore, after a certain point, I will have to start making up stuff. I'll stop this rather pointless introduction right now and let you get on to the actual story. Without further ado: _

_**The Path We Tread...**_

_(Working Title)_

It was a moonless sky that hung overhead and, barely visible on the horizon, angry clouds climbed upwards before flattening out like an anvil. Lighting flashed within the dark, purplish mass, though no sound reached my ears. I don't know what I had been thinking, walking about in the dead of night. I had been visiting an ill friend, delivering some soup so she wouldn't have to cook and, as usual, I ended up staying longer then I had intended. It was a lonely road on the way home, one of the many blessings and curses of living in a remote house in a remote town in a remote part of the country. There was never any traffic but there was never any company either and I had foolishly chosen to walk the mile or so down the road.

The night was anything but silent. Crickets, frogs, and night birds made sure that there was never a moment of quiet. Even then, the night was still. No animals moved in the underbrush and when one did, I jumped in the air and scooted away, disturbing the steady rhythm I had fallen into. Childhood stories came back to mind, sending shivers down my spine. Vampires, imps, will-o'-the-wisps, and grims all lurked behind a tree or under a bush or hid in the shadows

That was why when I first met him, I thought he was a grim. I felt my blood run cold within my veins and my heart skipped several beats before beginning to pound excessively in my chest. I backed away slowly, trying to keep my breath even and hoping I didn't die of fright right there. He came towards me, a large, shaggy black dog; it's eyes burning a bright, vivid yellow.

I thought it was going to pounce, I was afraid it was going to jump up and seal its jaws around my neck, sink it's fangs into the soft flesh of my throat. But no, the creature collapsed with a low, almost human moan and a whimper. Grims didn't whimper. Not that I knew of, anyways. Logic finally managed to fight off the wild thoughts brought on by panic and it struck me, what should have been obvious before. It was a dog, frail and sickly.

At once, pity yanked at my heart and I felt I had to do something. I bit my lip as I thought of what to do. Just a quarter mile or less left until I reached my house on the curve. I looked back down at it and tried to pick it up before realizing that it wasn't going to happen. He was just too much for my small frame to carry. I sighed deeply and tried to get the dog to stand. After a few tries, the giant mass of fur managed to stay on it's own four paws and from there it was a simple matter of coaxing the dog into following me.

Some how it managed to make it all the way down the road, up my drive way and into my kitchen, only to collapse yet again, this time without moving. I went out to the hallway leading to my bedroom and opened the small closet there. I pulled out my oldest towels and heaped them into my arms, meaning to make a bed for the poor creature. Kicking the door, I closed the closet before hurriedly returning to the kitchen.

The dog lifted it's face up off the ground and looked at me. I sighed and put the rags down in a corner, once again coaxing the dog into it. I stood back and stared at him, clicking my tongue as I gave him a quick look over. He was a pathetic sight indeed. I ran an anxious hand through my dark hair and sighed. What was I going to do, I thought. I looked around with a frown. I had no dog food to give him, and I didn't know any neighbors who had a dog either.

The dog just continued to stare up at him and every passing moment made my heart feel heavier. I went over to the fridge and looked around for anything that I might give him. There wasn't much. Fruits, vegetables, milk, some half-frozen chicken. A search of the Pantry produced similar results. A couple boxes of cereal, some muffins, some Mac-n-cheese and other odds and ends. Not much that I would give a dog. I pushed around until I found a few cans of SPAM that I had for when my parents came to visit. It would have to do…

I quickly served it on a plate and put it down in the middle of the kitchen. I wasn't sure how the dog would react if I gave it food and I got too close. I wasn't too keen to find out either. I stood back and watched the dog, hands on my hips. The poor creature only looked at me once more before moving forward slowly and attacking the food. I sighed again and shook my head. The food was gone within moments. The dog turned it's pitiful eyes back on me before gazing around the room. Another sigh over took me. What to do? I couldn't turn him back lose! No, I'd call a dog shelter in the morning and either drive him over or have them pick the creature up. Either way, the dog would be staying the night.

I served the dog more food before getting more blankets and a bowl to put water in. There wasn't much more I could do so I 'doggy-proofed' the room, moving anything I was afraid might get destroyed out of the way before closing the kitchen door and shutting off the light. In the morning, I would deal with him.

_Well, I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. I would appreciate any and all constructive criticism, since this was also intended to be morphed into an original story at one point or another. As such, I realize there will be many things that may not fit in with the world JK Rowling has created. Flaming will be completely ignored. Thank you._

_The Lady Fay.:_


	2. Chapter 2

_The second chapter of my story. I made some changes to the first chapter, by the way, incase you read this and wonder if I skipped a chapter by accident. So, now I'll stop the chatter and let you read on: _

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_Chapter Two_

It's strange how things work. Usually, I'm the heaviest sleeper on earth. A riot could be knocking on my door and I'd keep on dreaming away. That night was different. I found it impossible to rest and I tossed and turned for a few hours before finally sitting up in my bed. Something was bothering me. Maybe it was the dog downstairs; maybe it was some great worry I had somehow managed to forget about. Either way, I wasn't getting any sleep that night. It wasn't until later that I figured out that it was fate telling me my life had been too easy thus far.

I stood up from my bed and smoothed down the fabric of my silky nightgown. I ran a hand through my hair as I yawned widely, walking down the hall towards the kitchen to check on my furry companion. The soft cream carpet beneath me muffled any noise my feet made and I knew my house much to well to stumble about. Fully awake I made it to the kitchen door then froze. Apparently, the dog was moving around a lot. I sighed deeply and shook my head as I pushed the door open. "What the hell are you do-"

Standing in my kitchen was a man, Yes, a man. Surprised by my intrusion, he whirled his body around to face me, a blur of black and white. My eyes widened as my jaw dropped. Ragged robes hung off a thin body and matted hair fell about his shoulders and to his waist, partially obscuring a wasted, waxen face. Icy blue eyes stared back at me, as wide as my own.

For a long moment, we both stood there, any words I had stuck in my throat. I squeaked and jabbered a few times before finally finding the words. "Who are you?" I saw the mans eyes dart around the room then to me. The kitchen window as much too small for a man, and I was blocking the only exit.

"Who are you?" I repeated, my voice no longer so surprised and shocked as before. I knew my voice was harsh and I appeared to be a lot braver then I was. I was confronting a man who had entered my house. He could be armed, for all I knew! The man put down a box of cereal I only now noticed and looked around again.

"I was just hungry…" He said, putting his hands up. "I'm sorry I woke you, I was hoping you wouldn't come down…" He answered, his eyes darting around.

I narrowed my eyes at him and frowned. His eyes narrowed in response and he growled a low, animal like growl. For a moment, I felt a familiar tinge of fear roll down my spine, just before I came to a realization. "Where's the dog?" I asked, looking around again.

"The dog…is of no importance right now." He said his voice raspy from years of little use for it. He faced me squarely, his head tilted forward and his eyes narrowed. He was trying to intimidate me, and it was working.

What was I going to do? What could I do? There was a strange man in the house, I was all alone, I was sure he was faster and stronger then I was, and the dog was missing. The dog. Why did I keep thinking back to that damned dog? I shook my head to clear my mind. My legs felt like jelly beneath me, unable to support my weight. Not it was my turn to have my eyes dart around, looking for anything that would aid me. I looked up at the strange man, with his menacing stance. It took me about a second and a half to decide to run for it. I turned and sped down the hall, running towards the main door. I could hear the man right behind me, trying to grab on to me, catching up. His heavy footsteps were audible, despite the carpeting. He was pumping his legs faster then I ever dared wish I could, not even with adrenaline coursing it's way through my body like fire could I keep the distance. He grabbed for the back of my shirt and I knew if I tried to open the door, I would be dead.

I turned the corner, my breath coming is sharp, deep pants. Holding on to the ebony banister, I used it to swing my momentum around and rush up the stairs. While my room was downstairs, up in the second story were two large rooms and a bathroom. One room was used for guests; the other was my personal office. The first room was the office. I used the banister to swing around and past it towards the guest room, praying it would buy me time and grateful to notice the open door. I sped in and turned to slam the door shut. Too late.

Already standing there, panting with his mouth open, his chest heaving and his eyes narrowed dangerously at me was the man. He walked forward, closing the door behind him and taking a few measured paces towards me. I scrambled back and felt around the table I bumped into.

My fingers curled around the heavy base of a lamp, and it yanked it, ripping the cord from the wall and swinging it before me. "GET AWAY!" I screeched. "Get away from me!" He walked forward and grabbed the lamp as I swung on him.

He heaved a great sigh and rolled his eyes at me. I was taken aback. Annoyance? Was that what he felt: annoyance? What was going through this mans mind? I looked at him, my brows furrowed together. "Listen, ma'am," He began, "I've got no intention of hurting you. But you can't say a word about me, okay?" He asked.

I looked him over. What on earth was going on? My head was swimming and I wasn't quite sure whether I should believe him or fight him. I looked him over, a frown tugging at the corners of my lips. He wasn't as intimidating now that the initial fright had passed. Sure, I knew he looked thin before but now he looked frail and sickly too. He was much too thin, almost starved and his skin was drawn too tightly over his frame.

Closer inspection showed that he was still breathing hard, much harder then that quick run granted, and that he didn't seem quite all here. In fact, his hand seemed to tremble as he held on to the lamp.

I looked up and noticed a frown on his face. He had caught me looking at his hand. As if to prove that he meant his words, he let go and took a few steps back. What was that I saw? Did he nearly stumble? Indeed, I thought. The strange man grabbed onto the bed and collapsed back onto the floor, a whine and a whimper coming up from his throat as he lost consciousness. Once again I found myself thinking back to that dog…

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